Gilly’s guillotine shreds Sri Lanka as Australia complete treble

World Cup Classics: Australia v Sri Lanka – Final, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, 28 April 2007

Australia won their third World Cup in a row and fourth overall in thumping fashion and took their undefeated run in WC matches to an unmatched 29. They brushed aside Sri Lankans, who were worthily the second best team of the tournament, with an aura of invincibility and disdain. The manner in which Adam Gilchrist single-handedly robbed Mahela and his team of their second world title still reverberates in the memory of all those who witnessed his brutality on that disgraceful day for the organizers. The match ended in a travesty as Sri Lankans after accepting bad light and hence the defeat, were asked to play again under dark to complete the match.

Ponting won the toss and elected to bat on what looked like to be a belter. Match was agonizingly delayed for almost 3 hours due to rain and reduced to 38 overs a side. After a couple of quiet overs, Gilchrist opened his shoulders thumping Vaas for a four and a six. Hayden joined in the act and the two, then, looked so comfortable at the crease as if they were batting in their backyard. Gilly gave a tough caught and bowled chance to Fernando on 31 but then he slaughtered him for 4, 4 and 6 on the next 3 deliveries. Seeing Gilly go madly at the bowling, Hayden maintained his sanity and the pair put on a World Cup record 172 runs for the first wicket in 22.5 overs. He was harsh on all the bowlers including Muralitharan but he treated Fernando with special callousness. He brought up his hundred, with a cracking four off Malinga, on 72 balls with 8 fours and 6 sixes. This was the fastest hundred in a WC final.

Hayden fell after making 38 off 55 balls with 3 fours and a six. Ponting came out and continued to play like Hayden, giving strike to Gilly while latching on to anything even fractionally loose. It was Fernando who dismissed Gilchrist for 149 (104 balls; 13 fours, 8 sixes) when he miscued a pull towards midwicket. Andrew Symonds played a breezy knock in the end to help Australia post 281/4 in 38 overs. It was a daunting task for Sri Lanka. Malinga was the pick of the bowlers as he was relatively spared by the Kangaroos giving away 59 runs for his 2 wickets.

Sri Lanka lost Tharanga cheaply but Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara gave their team a glimmer of hope with a 116-run partnership in almost 18 overs. Jayasuriya although played aggressively, but sadly for Sri Lanka, could not match Gilchrist stroke for stroke. Sangakkara too played some dazzling shots, one six off McGrath over mid wicket followed by two successive fours were the highlights. Someone had to play an innings like Gilly’s to be able to challenge the Australians but Sangakkara (54 off 52 balls) and Jayasuriya (63 off 67 balls) both fell one after the other leaving their team in a hopeless position in the middle of the chase. In form Mahela and Chamara Silva could not convert their starts into big ones and Sri Lanka had lost the final before it had finished. They were always behind Duckworth-Lewis par score as the light deteriorated rapidly in the twilight. It soon became unplayable and Sri Lankans took it the minute it was offered by the umpires. They still needed 63 in 3 overs with 3 wickets in hand.

Australians started to celebrate their hat-trick of WC wins. Then the farce unfolded. The match officials lead by the referee Jeff Crowe and the two on-field umpires, Steve Bucknor and Aleem Dar, told Australia to hold on their victory lap as the match was not over according to the rules. They had to come back again the next morning to complete it. The Sri Lankans agreed, at last, to continue playing if spinners are to bowl. The world witnessed in amazement the things being put back in order for the match to continue again in dark. Symonds beat Malinga’s swing and Gilly appealed for a stumping but Dar went to the 3rd umpire as it was impossible to see the proceedings in the night! Sri Lanka finished with 215 for 8 after 36 overs; rain interruption in the 25th over had readjusted the target to 269 off 36 overs. They lost the match by 53 runs (D/L method). Clarke took 2 for 33 in his 5 overs. Australians burst into jubilation again and the post-match ceremony was held amid loud boos from the crowd.

Gilchrist was named the Man of the Match while McGrath, on his farewell, was the undisputed Man of the Tournament. Despite the fact that the World Cup proved a failure on many aspects and that it had ended so shamefully, the Australians were the worthy winners and the best of all by a mile. They never looked like losing a match at any stage and that fact too made the tournament somewhat less attractive; but certainly not for an Aussie fan.